Symphonized NRG Premium In-ear Headphones Review

Hello!

Around my house, we go through headphones and ear buds at a ferocious rate. Things get dropped, plugs get yanked out, and all of a sudden they stop working. Go figure! So, it is a good idea to keep some spares on hand, and right now I have a few extra sets of the Symphonized NRG in-ear headphones on hand.

Symphonized makes ear buds, headphones, and wireless speakers, and they have a unique take on the market; everything they make has wood in it. Their marketing materials say that since quality speakers and musical instruments are made of wood, your headphones should be made out of wood too. I am not convinced that making almond-sized ear buds out of wood will make them sound any different, but that is their story.

When you open the package, you will find that the NRG phones come with a lot of extra stuff. There are 5 extra sets of silicone ear cups, a clip, and a little linen carry bag. The headphones themselves come with various colors of cloth-wrapped cables (4 feet long), a built-in microphone, and a gold-plated 1/8-inch jack. They look nice and yes, they are actually made out of wood.

They have 8mm neodymium magnet drivers, have 16 ohms of resistance (so they will play ok on you smart phone), and the manufacturer says they have a frequency response of 18Hz to 22kHz. That is ambitious!

Setting all of the specs and other gobbledygook aside, these are pretty good ear buds. There is good isolation from outside noise, and very good high and mid ranges. The bass is muddy, but is not much worse than other phones in the same price range. The only gripe I have is with the cloth-covered wires. When they are moved around, anything that contacts the braided sheath makes a scratchy noise that transmits straight up into the user’s ears. Not an electronic noise, mind you, but a mechanical noise. Anyway, it is not too awful, and it would not keep me from buying them.

I have not tried to use the manufacturer’s 1-year warranty, but it seems to be the usual one that covers defects, which is not usually what causes ear buds to fail – it is always some sort of accident or abuse by the user. Anyway, they have a toll-free number you can call to discuss things if they do crap out on you

The Symphonized NRG ear buds are good enough for most uses and are able to get the job done for a reasonable price. You can disregard the list price of $49.99, as the manufacturer sells them direct through Amazon Prime for $18.99, which includes shipping.

Mahalo!